But, each step is worthy of intentional focus and strategy. So, congratulate yourself when you get through the daunting and often tedious application process when you land an interview. But, even though the candidate pool significantly dwindled, don’t rest on your laurels. There is, of course, more work to be done! Melissa Llarena’s article, “How To Answer The Five Most Common Interview Questions,” helps prepare job seekers to not be thrown off the game during this important meeting.

Larry Slesinger, author of “Why Qualified Candidates Don’t Always Get the Best Jobs,” acknowledges a number of factors come into play as to why a qualified applicant doesn’t land a particular job including having too much or too little experience or that his or her experience is good but not quite the right fit in that organization. Those are aspects over which an applicant has little or no control. However, there are other areas a job seeker can completely control and to which specific attention should be given to make a strong, positive mark during the interview process.